Tacoma City Council Meeting - August 25, 2015
It was a quick meeting this week - over and done in 15 minutes. Perhaps just the right length for our collective summer vacation attention spans...
CONSENT AGENDA
FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance No. 28239 An ordinance vacating a portion of South 49th Street lying between South Wilkeson Street and Interstate 5 for use as fire and utility access, and additional parking for construction of a 44,500 square foot furniture store and associated parking on the adjacent property; and adopting the Hearing Examiner’s Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations.
Ordinance No. 28308 An ordinance amending Chapter 13.06 of the Municipal Code, related to Zoning, to reclassify the property located at 4722 35th Street Northeast from an “R-2” Single Family Dwelling District to an “R-3” Two-Family Dwelling District to allow for the conversion of a single-family dwelling into a two-family dwelling.
The consent agenda was adopted without comment.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No comment.
REGULAR AGENDA
RESOLUTIONS
Resolution No. 39261 A resolution declaring surplus and authorizing the execution of a Purchase and Sale Agreement and Quit Claim Deed to convey a 4,000 square-foot property located at 3515 North Alder Way, to Ian and Yong-Ye Costello, for the amount of $6,141.
The City acquired the property in question in 2005 to facilitate a restoration plan, but no viable plan has been submitted, so the City has been in negotiations for the sale to the abutting property owners. The owners will dedicate the 723 square-foot section closest to the road for the existing fish ladder.
Resolution No. 39262 A resolution authorizing the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, in the amount of $50,000 in 2015 and $50,000 in 2016, for a cumulative total of $100,000, budgeted from the Council Contingency Fund, for the operation of the Wood Stove Program.
This resolution authorizes the use of $100,000 over the next two years to keep the Wood Stove Program for Pierce County going after its defunding by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The program replaces wood stoves for low-income households to improve air quality in the Tacoma area, which is only recently out of noncompliance with the EPA. About half the stoves replaced by the program have been in Tacoma, with the rest in the Pierce County area, so the Pierce County Health Department will also be contributing to the program.
Mayor Strickland explained that she supports this initiative, saying that a part of the City’s Equity and Empowerment Initiative should be environmental justice, and that going forward the City will look for a way to build the work done by the program into the regular budget.
FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance No. 28318 An ordinance granting a nonexclusive franchise to Puget Sound Energy, Inc. to construct, operate, maintain, remove, replace, and repair pipeline facilities in public rights-of-way, for the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas
This ordinance would authorize the renewal of the agreement that allows PSE to use City rights-of-way for its gas lines. The original agreement dating back to 1984 expired in 2009 and the City and PSE have been in negotiations since then. Those negotiations have ended with this agreement.
Negotiated changes include increased insurance limits, specifics for the restoration of rights-of-way when work on gas lines is done, terms for emergency response plans, and relocation requirements. The ordinance will get a final reading in a couple weeks.
COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Councilmember Campbell gave his weekly reminder that the new Eastside Farmers' Market happens on Wednesdays at Salishan.
Councilmember Ibsen reminded us that the West End Neighborhood Cleanup happens this Saturday at the Narrows Park and Ride near Pao’s Donuts starting at 10 a.m.
ADJOURNMENT
For more on the items on this week’s agenda, see our City Business Preview.
What did we tell you? Quick. Relatively painless. Now back to whatever summer adventures you're squeezing into the final days of August...